Candy Crisis
by Wonkaverse
Summary: Sequel to Candy Crossed. William Wonka gets a surprise visit from another person who has traveled through time.
1. Decorations

**Disclaimer**: We do not own anything from the _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_ books or movie, or from the musical _Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory_. Nor do we own anything from the _Dr. Who_ franchise. All characters and references are used here for entertainment purposes only.

**Author's Note**: Sequel to _Candy Crossed_. The Doctor in this episode is the Tenth.

A month had passed since William Wonka crossed paths with his alternate self in an alternate universe, where he had gone to rescue four of the Golden Ticket winners from being trapped in the wrong dimension. In the end, he not only succeeded in bringing them back home, but he had proven his theory that the raw time crystals he had used in his candy could open gateways through time and space. And while he couldn't be completely certain that it was safe in the long run, the fact that Violet Beauregarde and Mike Teavee had been restored to their normal selves in the time tunnel gave him hope that any consequence of time travel would not be so terrible. Even still, he hadn't used any of the Time Candy since then. It was sitting in a locker in the Inventing Room, along with a few time crystals he was planning to experiment with later. He was considering returning them to the place he had found them, since they had caused so much trouble. But then again, why get rid of them if he could just use them up? He smiled as he thought about visiting the alternate universe where his own alternate, Willy Wonka, lived. William was grateful for the other Wonka's help in getting the Ticket Winners back to their own dimension. He was also curious how Willy's Tour turned out. Perhaps he would go over and ask.

William strolled toward the Inventing Room, glad that Charlie was busy with his schooling under the smartest Oompa-Loompas, and the rest of the Bucket family was making adjustments to living and working in the massive factory. The old grandparents had a great talent for accounting, since they knew how to make the most out of everything, and Charlie's father turned out to have a great mind for mechanics. Mrs. Bucket found joy in caring for the Oompa-Loompa children while their parents were at work, and they all adored her in return. Yes, the Bucket family was a great addition to the Wonka Company, but more than that, they had accepted Wonka as family. He smiled fondly to himself as he walked down a long corridor that was decorated with various statues. While Wonka appreciated art, the Oompa-Loompas seemed fascinated with it and sometimes "acquired" local pieces. There were bronze busts of old officials, plaster replicas of Greek gods, and marble columns engraved with curious scenes from history. There seemed to be a new addition today, and William chuckled as he passed it by - a stone angel that was covering its face with its hands, as if it was weeping. No doubt a church somewhere in the village was missing a statue, William thought. He made a mental note to scold the Oompa-Loompas for stealing, but that could wait until later. He moved on, unaware that when he turned away, the angel began to move...


	2. Eyes Open

The door to the Inventing Room swung open, and a plethora of wonderful aromas washed over Wonka like a cheerful welcome. How he loved this room! It almost seemed alive with its whirring, whimsical machinery and the various sounds they made - squeaking, buzzing, and humming - and the moving conveyor belts and the swirling barrels, and...Wonka froze in mid thought. There was something in this room that did not belong. A tall, lanky man was standing near the Everlasting Gobstopper machine, waving a small device of some kind. He was wearing a long coat, slacks, and strange shoes that were laced like Oxfords but appeared to be made from rubber and canvas. His back was to Wonka, but he spun around when Wonka approached. He forced a smile, his face bright with surprise.

"Good morning there, so sorry to pop in here unannounced, but I was called here because there was an issue with your, uh, pipes."

Wonka gave him a long look, noting the man's combed hair, his tie, and the spark of playful mischief in his eyes.

"I see, Wonka said carefully. "And you would be?"

"John Smith," the man said, flashing a card from his wallet. "Plumbing Inspector for the area. I was alerted to a leak by one of your neighbors and thought I ought to have a look around."

Wonka smiled wryly. "Well that would be helpful if there really was a leak, and if you really were an inspector. That paper you just showed me was blank."

The man sputtered in disbelief. "But this is psychic paper! You shouldn't be able to see through it, unless you're a genius, or..." He whipped out a grey and silver device that looked like a large pen. It whirred and glowed with a blue light, and the man looked at it intently like he was reading something.

"Chroniton residue. An indication of interdimensional travel." He looked at Wonka as if seeing him for the first time. "Who are you?"

"William Wonka," Wonka replied, tipping his top hat. "World-renowned chocolatier. And since you are aware of interdimensional travel, I can only assume you are one such traveler yourself."

The man sighed, knowing he was caught. "You're right. So I'm going to be honest with you, because there's not much time." He waved the silver device around, and it gave a few high-pitched chirps.

"John Smith is not my real name, but friends call me 'the Doctor'."

"The Doctor," Wonka echoed, unsure of how to feel about this fellow traveler who didn't have a proper name, and seemed to be looking for something. It should have bothered him, especially after having his secret recipes stolen by spies, but he was more concerned with who this man was. Could he be another alternate version of Wonka? Was this how Willy Wonka felt when William appeared in his dimension?

"Uh...Doctor," he said as the Doctor rummaged through the contents of a desk drawer, "Could you tell me why you are here, and where you came from?"

The Doctor stared at a singing lollipop that he had unearthed from the drawer, impressed and a little confused by a singing sweet.

"Well," he said, setting the lollipop aside, "I was looking for an alien, to be honest. Extraterrestrial. That means a being from outer space."

"I know what that means," Wonka said patiently. "I've even met some."

The Doctor seemed surprised. he licked his finger and held it up like he was testing the air. "This is the 1970's, right? Human contact with alien life forms shouldn't take place for another few decades."

"Perhaps I'm not your average human," Wonka said coolly. "I've gone into space numerous times, as far as the moon. More often than not, I encounter alien life. But never anything pleasant." He frowned. "What sort of alien were you looking for, Doctor?"

The Doctor glanced at the device in his hand, which was his sonic screwdriver. While it was indeed handy for building shelves, he had modified it for countless other purposes such as scanning for energy signatures.

"There is something in your factory that is hungry for energy." he said grimly. "It was probably drawn here because there seems to be an unusually high concentration of energetic chronitons in the area."

"So it likes to eat energy," Wonka said thoughtfully. "If it gets full, will it go away?"

The Doctor shook his head. "This creature is never full. It must continuously absorb energy or it will die."

"Well, if it takes energy, then it should go to a power plant," Wonka said. "No harm to us, right?"

"Unfortunately not," the Doctor grunted. "This creature specifically needs time energy. And in order to generate it, it touches a living being and sends it back in time. Then the timeline that the being vacated becomes pure time energy, which is then absorbed." The Doctor took on a pondering tone. "It's a fascinating species, I must admit - and the kindest of killers. Basically it kills you by sending you to the past where you live until you die." He sniffed. "But it isn't pleasant either way. There was this one time when -"

"Doctor," Wonka said, interrupting him, "What does the alien look like?"

The Doctor froze, then fumbled for his sonic. "Why do you ask?"

"Because either my workers are playing a joke on me, or that statue I saw in the hall a minute ago is not what I assumed it to be."

The Doctor turned to look where Wonka was looking. There, in the open doorway of the inventing room, was the angel statue that Wonka had seen earlier.

"Weeping Angel," the Doctor said lowly. "So called because it usually keeps its hands over its eyes."

"How did it move?" Wonka wondered aloud. "It looks like it's made of stone."

"Only when you look at it," the Doctor said. "It is quantum-locked. But if you look away...if you even blink...it changes into its mobile form and can move incredibly fast."

"So we must keep looking at it to keep it from moving," Wonka said in understanding. "But how do you plan on getting rid of it?

The Doctor paused to think. "Well, that always was the problem. You can only stare at it for so long before you have to close your eyes and it escapes. The last time I encountered these creatures, I tricked them into staring at each other so that they stayed frozen forever...stone staring at stone. There only seems to be one this time, but one Weeping Angel is deadly enough."

"And I assume you can't kill a stone," Wonka said grimly.

"Yup," the Doctor said.

Wonka thought hard as he blinked one eye at a time.

"Is there any chance it could be trapped? Say, in a house of mirrors?"

The Doctor brightened. "That could work! Do you happen to have one?"

"Of course not," Wonka retorted, "though I am giving it serious thought for the future." He paused, staring hard at the Angel. He snapped his fingers and glanced at the Doctor. "I've got an idea. We can lure it someplace where it can be safely locked up. Not a hall of mirrors, but almost as good."

"And how are you going to do that?" The Doctor asked, rolling his eyes. He realized his mistake an instant after - both he and Wonka looked up to see that the Angel was now standing frozen over them, its face twisted into a silent snarl. Wonka was startled, but he maintained his composure as he backed away until his back was pressed against a safe. he proceeded to play a short piece from Rachmaninoff's Piano Concierto No. 2 on a set of piano keys, and the safe clicked open. He reached in and grabbed a satchel, the same one he had taken on his last journey. It contained the time candy and remaining crystals. "Let's go!" he said urgently to the Doctor. He ran quickly toward the back of the room, the Doctor hot on his heels as neither of them dared to look back. Wonka jumped into what looked like a large closet and waved hurriedly for the Doctor to join him. The Doctor dove in, and a glass door slid into place behind him. The Doctor knocked on the door skeptically.

"That's not going to keep it out," he said sinkingly.

"You'd be surprised how strong it is," Wonka said calmly. "We're perfectly safe."

The Doctor shot him a dry look, and it was then that they heard a knocking on the glass. The Angel was there on the outside, fists pressed against the glass.

"He must really want these," Wonka said.

The Doctor finally looked at what Wonka was carrying, and he gasped in surprise. The time crystals were luminous crystal shards that shone with a golden light. There was a warmth to them that was more than mere heat - it was as if looking at them warmed the heart and gave life to the soul.

"Where did you get that?" The Doctor asked, awed by the sight. He hadn't seen such crystals since he had fled from his homeworld, Gallifrey.

"The deepest part of the Earth," Wonka explained, "It's not really molten magma, as the the world's top scientists once thought. In fact, it is a whole other world in itself. You will see. But first, we must be rid of our unpleasant guest." Wonka pressed a button beside him, and a word lit up beside it which read: MINUSLAND. The Doctor suddenly realized there were hundreds of other buttons lining every available space on the ceiling and walls, and that this strange space was made entirely from glass. Then it moved, sinking down until the doorway and Angel disappeared. There was a thump on the ceiling, and Wonka and the Doctor both looked up to see the Angel crouching on the roof of what the Doctor now realized was an elevator.


	3. Minusland

The Doctor had no idea what "Minusland" meant, but he figured it was some kind of electrical room in the factory. He expected the elevator to go down like any other elevator. He was wrong. The elevator shot suddenly to the side, throwing him off his feet. His face slammed painfully into the glass door, filling his vision with stars. He blinked them away just as the elevator passed into a huge space that resembled miles of snow-capped mountain peaks. The Doctor's eyes widened in surprise. What was this?

"Uh, Mr. Wonka, where are we?"

Wonka was dutifully staring at the Weeping Angel, but he knew where they were by the powdered sugar dusting the glass.

"Fudge Mountain," he answered simply. "It's where my workers mine the fudge I use in my factory."

The Doctor shot him an incredulous look. "But how -"

"Does it all fit in my factory?" Wonka said for him. "Simple. It doesn't. But underneath my factory, I have miles and miles of space to work with, so long as I hollow it out. This room is only one of many, as you will soon see. But let me concentrate now. I don't want to blink and let this fellow get away."

The Doctor rubbed his sore nose as he continued to look through the glass door. He could see tiny men at work on the mountain. They were all tied together with ropes for safety, and they were hewing chunks of fudge out of the mountainside with pickaxes. The room disappeared as the elevator shot into a tunnel that was completely lit, so Wonka was able to keep the Angel in sight. The elevator passed into another huge room that was brightly lit, showing a great expanse of a jungle canopy.

"A jungle?" The Doctor muttered, shaking his head. He was no stranger to traveling between worlds, but to do it in a candy factory?

"It's where I grow the cocoa beans I use in my factory," Wonka explained. "I use millions of them a day. Perhaps I'll be able to show you, once we are rid of our friend on the roof."

The elevator passed over the jungle and slid through a narrow passageway into what looked like a deep cavern, but all along the walls there were platforms where the tiny men and women were busily working at desks.

"Ah, the Administrative Offices," Wonka said as the elevator began to descend. "We're getting close to our destination."

The elevator dropped further and further, until it dropped through a hole in the floor. The elevator slid into another huge room, This one filled with rows and rows of large safes. Dozens of tiny men in guard uniforms were working among the safes, filling them with hundreds of boxes.

"What are all these safes for?" The Doctor asked.

"Money, of course," Wonka said. "And jewels and bars of silver and gold. Whatever people use to pay for my candy. I also store my greatest secret recipes here, since they were stolen once before. The other thing that is here is the gateway to Minusland. You will see."

The elevator glided on rails over the room, until it was hanging over a great metal hatch set in the floor. A number of the tiny men were guarding it. When they saw Wonka in the elevator, they knew that it was time to open it. One of the men pushed a button, and the huge metal door opened.

Wonka took his eyes off the Angel, since he knew there was no where else for it to go. He looked at the Doctor and grinned.

"Are you afraid of falling, Doctor?" he asked.

The Doctor gave him a nervous look. "I'm not particularly fond of it, I'll admit."

"Then you better hold on," Wonka said, pressing one of the glass buttons. The description beside it said RELEASE.

The elevator fell from the rails into the great hole in the floor. The Doctor cried out in alarm, but Wonka only smiled placidly as they fell into the darkness. Hidden from sight, the Angel on the roof resumed pounding even as they fell. The Doctor's feet rose from the floor, and he wondered just how Wonka was able to maintain his composure even as they were plummeting to their deaths. Perhaps he was insane.

They fell for what seemed like an eternity, though in truth it was only a few minutes. Wonka had been counting the seconds the whole time. At the right moment, he hit another button, and the elevator stopped. He set his feet on the floor with the practice of a gymnast. The Doctor, on the other hand, flopped onto his bottom.

"What did you do?" He demanded.

"We're here," was all Wonka said. He pointed outside. All around them was darkness. It was so thick, it looked like someone had painted the outside of the elevator black. The only light came from the lit button. It was quiet. The Doctor could hear himself breathing, his two hearts beating louder than normal. Then he realized that he couldn't hear the Angel pounding on the roof anymore.

"The Angel," he whispered. "It's gone."

"The Minuses must have got him," Wonka murmured. "And now they're the ones doing the energy draining."

The Doctor looked unsure. "I've never heard of 'Minuses', or 'Minusland'. What is it?"

"Simply put," Wonka said, "It's an antiparallel dimension where time values are negative. And Minuses are people or creatures who had the misfortune of losing more time than they actually had. So they end up in Minusland until they accumulate enough time to become Plusses, like us."

"But, but that's impossible!" The Doctor exclaimed.

"Come now," Wonka said with a smile, "It only makes sense that if there is a forward direction, there is also a backward one. Otherwise time travel would be impossible. Minusland works the same way, but instead of a direction of travel being negative, time is."

The Doctor had no reply for that. It was very rare that he met a person who intrigued him, and Wonka was doing just that.


	4. Deep

"Well," Wonka said gustily, "Our friend is gone, and we can't hang here forever. I suppose while we're out here, I'll return these crystals where I found them."

He pressed another button, and the elevator began to descend again, though more slowly than before.

The darkness began to pale, and it gradually got brighter and brighter until there was a blinding flash of light, and the elevator shot out into a giant cavern. The Doctor stared in awe. He had seen many things in his lifetime, but this was surprisingly new. The cavern was as bright as day, lit up by what looked like giant mushrooms and white, glowing moss that hung down from the distant cave ceiling. A forest of the giant mushrooms blanketed the ground, and glowing moss grew up from the soil like a thick carpet. A calm river flowed from a crack in the wall, and a dazzling light seemed to be coming from it.

"We're here," Wonka announced as the elevator touched down on the ground. The doors slid open, and he led the Doctor toward the source of the river. As they got closer, the Doctor could see that the crack from which the river flowed was also the source of the light. The light dripped into the river, causing glowing crystals to grow along the riverbanks.

"This is where I found the time crystals," Wonka said, pointing at the riverbank. I suppose it's only right that they should be returned after all the trouble they caused."

The Doctor gave him a questioning look. "So you'll never time travel again?"

Wonka paused, and smiled dryly. "Well you're also a time traveler, so you tell me. Do we ever cross paths again, in the past or the future?"

The Doctor thought carefully, crinkling his brow. "Er, no. I don't think so. Or I don't know yet. This is the first time I've ever come across you...or any human who figured out time travel on their own."

"Maybe I'm not quite human," Wonka joked, as he laid the time crystals and time candy on the riverbank. Suddenly, a wispy orb appeared from nowhere and hovered over the candy and crystal shards. The Doctor leapt back in surprise, but Wonka only looked at it and smiled.

"I'm returning these," he told it. It seemed to understand, its color shifting from orange to green and blue. It enveloped the crystals and candy, and after a gentle touch on Wonka's palm, it disappeared.

The Doctor stared at the place where it had vanished.

"You seemed to know what that was. So, what was it?"

"I call it a Timey," Wonka replied, slipping the empty satchel into his coat. "I encountered them when I was traveling between dimensions. I think they repair damage, make right out of things that went wrong."

"Like interdimensional repairmen," the Doctor mused aloud. "Fascinating." He was just talking about it to hide his growing suspicion that Wonka was not just an ordinary human. His intelligence, his ability to harness time crystals, his immunity to psychic paper...could Wonka actually be a Time Lord disguised as a human? The possibility made the Doctor's two hearts beat a little faster. If Wonka was a Time Lord, then that would mean the Doctor was not the last of his kind, the only survivor of Gallifrey and the Time War. He considered these things as he and Wonka made their return to the factory.

When the elevator came to stop where their journey had begun, Wonka looked at the Doctor curiously.

"You've been quiet since you saw the Timey. What are you thinking about?"

The Doctor chuckled nervously. "Uh, just wondering if I should show you how I got into your factory. Under the circumstances, I think I should." He walked out of the elevator into the Inventing Room. leading Wonka past various machines until they were in the back of the room, near the Chewing Gum Meal machine. There, in the farthest corner, was a blue Police Public Call Box. Wonka laughed.

"You came in a telephone box?"

"It's not just a telephone box," the Doctor said defensively as he produced a key and unlocked it. "Go inside and have a look."

Wonka looked skeptical, but he opened the door and walked in. He had expected to step into an ordinary phone booth, but instead he had stepped onto the upper deck of what looked like the fantastic interior of a spaceship. It was a large space that stretched high overhead, the walls and ceilings and floors all glowing with green and blue lights. In the center of the space was a bank of consoles that had all manners of dials and switches and levers and television screens, and most curious of all was the glowing glass core that shined with a familiar golden light. Wonka took all this in speechlessly as the Doctor stood behind him.

"Well?" The Doctor asked, grinning.

"I like it," Wonka answered. He ran his hand along a smooth column beside him. "It reminds me of something I can't quite put my finger on. Something that makes me happy and sad at the same time."

"I think I know why," the Doctor said, struggling to contain his excitement. "Do you happen to have an old pocket watch that is broken, but you can't bear to throw it away?"

Wonka looked surprised. "Why yes, I do." He reached into his coat and pulled out a battered, old pocket watch that was tarnished with age. He handed it to the Doctor. "Does it mean anything?"

The Doctor took the watch in his hands, thrill tingling his spine. He could feel Time Lord energy in the watch, old memories and stories and knowledge. It was a reservoir and cloaking device - a way for Time Lords who did not want to be found to hide their true natures and live among different creatures as one of them. Trouble was, it made the user forget ever being a Time Lord...except for a feeling of wistfulness when looking up at the stars.

The Doctor had his answer. Wonka was a Time Lord after all. He could be easily restored - all the Doctor had to do was put the watch in Wonka's hand and tell him to open it. He was about to do it, when a little boy appeared on one of the television screens.

"Mr. Wonka? Are you in here?" he called.

The Doctor paused, getting a good look at the boy. He couldn't have been more than nine or ten years old, pale and thin and unremarkable except for the brilliance and kindness that shone in his eyes.

"Who is that? The Doctor asked.

"Oh, that's Charlie," Wonka said fondly. "He's basically my apprentice. The heir of my business. I'm training him to take over for me when I'm gone."

The Doctor digested Wonka"s words, spoken only with love. That was when he realized that he could never make Wonka open the pocket watch. Because he knew that Wonka was happy and content with where and what he was. The Doctor had experienced that once for himself, and could never bring himself to rip that away from someone else - even if it meant losing his only chance to not be alone anymore.

"Doctor?" Wonka prompted him.

"Hm? What?"

"I was just asking if there was anything you could do about the watch. If not, I'll take it back anyway. I can't help but feel like it's important, though I can't imagine why. But I need to be going now - it looks like Charlie needs me."

The Doctor smiled, a bit sadly, as he handed the watch back to Wonka.

"Nah, it's shot. Hopeless, really."

"Just as well," Wonka grunted good naturedly. "I have clocks all over my factory anyway." He tucked the watch back in his coat and shook the Doctor's hand.

"Well, best of luck to you, fellow time traveler. Good day to you...or whenever you find yourself next."

The Doctor laughed and started to turn away, when he suddenly thought of something. He pulled a blank sticky note from the stack on the console bank and hastily scribbled something on it. He handed the note to Wonka, who looked at it quizzically.

"What is this?"

"My telephone number. You do have telephones in this decade, don't you?"

"Of course," Wonka said.

"Well, if you ever need me - alien invasion, vampire attack, or even just to talk - give me a ring."

Wonka laughed. "I will, and that's a promise." He waved a final goodbye to the Doctor and stepped back into the Inventing Room. He crossed the room to look for Charlie. He found him by the Hair Toffee station.

"Where have you been, Mr. Wonka?" the boy asked.

Wonka only smiled, stooping down to hug him. There was a groaning and whooshing sound from the back of the room, a flash of light, then nothing. Wonka didn't have to look to know the telephone box and the man inside it were gone.

"What was that?" Charlie asked.

Wonka smiled softly as he stood up and tousled Charlie's hair.

"A friend."


End file.
